Book 8 Chapter 4 - Earthly Saber Song Zhi
Kou Zhong looked at the sailboat coming fast at them from the upper reaches of the River. Stopping Xu Ziling, he said, "Don't you think that boat look a lot like the ship that flew Song Clan's banner last night? But now the flag has been taken down.”
"Isn't it very easy if you really want to know?” Xu Ziling replied indifferently. Suddenly he leaped onto a big rock by the beach. Applying his qi, he called out, "May I ask if Miss Song is onboard?” His voice was carried by the wind toward the approaching sailboat.
Kou Zhong was stunned. He looked up at Xu Ziling, who was perched high on the rock, in disbelief. Completely at a loss, he asked, "Aren't you in strong opposition of me getting close to Song Yuzhi? Why today you are completely changed from your normal self? This kind of proactive action is really shocking.”
Xu Ziling let out a sincere and touching smile; he slyly said, "Basically you already knew that it was the same boat as last night, yet you put an act by asking me. No matter what I say, you will always find a way to make me do what you want me to do. So I might as well help you accomplish your aim. Aren't I a good enough brother for you?”
Kou Zhong roared in laughter, "You are funny enough for sure, you got me there. Ha! You'll make me die of laughing!”
One after another the two boys leaped onto the deck. Song Yuzhi looked at them coldly, without showing any emotion she said, "Turn around, return to port!”
Song Shuang, who was standing behind her, quickly transmitted the order. The sailors got busy immediately.
Kou Zhong bowed to salute and said, "Miss Song is going back and forth on the Great River, I wonder if it was for us, two brothers?”
Song Yuzhi stared at him coldly for quite a while. Suddenly she shook her head and sighed, "How did you do it?” she asked.
Xu Ziling replied nonchalantly, "Miss' news is really fast and abundant.”
Upset, Song Yuzhi said, "Only the deaf and the blind would not know about it. Ren Shaoming's death has turned the entire Jiujiang region into chaos, nobody is able to put it under control. Tieqi Hui is expressing their rage toward the Wulin characters inside the city, a lot of people have died. I heard that Chu Army is also in conflict with Tieqi Hui.”
Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay, thinking in their heart that they had implicated a lot of people.
Noticing that her boat has successfully turned around and was now sailing against the stream, Song Yuzhi softened. "How about two Gongzi giving me a face by coming inside for some refreshment, and food and drink?”
The two boys entered a small cabin at the end of a narrow gangway where a round table with more than a dozen chairs arranged around it. Immediately they were stunned.
Seven or eight people were crammed along the wall opposite the cabin door. Only one of them sat, steady and stable; obviously he was the one with the highest status.
The man looked to be around forty years of age, slim and tall, his skin was as white as snow, on his thin and narrow face was a pair of enigmatic, yet intelligent eyes. Along with a passionate and sensitive mouth with long, five-strand beard, and his scholarly attire, he was a picture of an elegant and handsome man, like Zhuge Wuhou[1] descended to the world of the immortals.
Seeing the two boys entered, his entire body rose, and he said with a smile, "Zaixia Song Zhi, welcoming two Gongzi's honorable selves who grace us wih your presence. Please sit down!”
Unexpectedly he was the second-in-command of the Song Clan, the ‘Earthly Saber' Song Zhi!
After regaining his composure, Kou Zhong saluted and said with a laugh, "Turns out Song Er Ye [second master] has come.”
Song Zhi cheerfully said, "Sit down first, we'll chat later.”
Only after Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were seated properly did Song Zhi also sat down. The other martial art masters of the Song Clan stood behind Song Zhi's chair. Only Song Yuzhi and Song Shuang stood on the two boys' side.
Xu Ziling felt awkward, "Why don't Miss Song and the others sit down?” he asked.
Calmly Song Zhi laughed and said, "Just let Laofu [old man, referring to self] sit on their behalf! This time the two Gongzi were able to strike and kill Ren Shaoming under the heavy siege of Tieqi Hui's as-numerous-as-the-cloud martial art masters, skillfully executed brilliant scheme, in battle of wits and battle of strength, inevitably the news about this battle exploded all over the world. However, with increasing fame comes increasing trouble. I was wondering what plan do the two Gongzi have for the future?”
Noticing that Song Zhi was well-aware of the situation as if he had personally witnessed it, the two boys' heart shivered in fear, knowing that he must have an informant planted within the Tieqi Hui.
Song Zhi went on, "There is one thing that I am not sure two gentlemen are aware of. Ren Shaoming was actually Tiele's ‘Big Bandit' Qu Ao's son. This man is going on the rampage along western frontier, no one is able to put him under control. Speaking about prestige, he is second only to Wuzun [martial art venerable] Bi Xuan. But in terms of cruelty and killing skill, Bi Xuan lags far behind him.”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished.
Qu Ao's name, they overheard it when they eavesdropped Song Yuzhi and Shen Luoyan's dialog the other day. Song Yuzhi was emphasizing to Shen Luoyan that Qu Ao was colluding with Du Fuwei to deal with Li Mi. Unexpectedly he and Ren Shaoming had a father and son relationship.
However, they were not afraid at all.
Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, "A plan, we do not have any. But it is quite possible that Song Er Ye has never heard that we, two brothers, are planning to haul a batch of salt to the salt-deficient Guanzhong, hoping to earn his mother's large profit.”
Hearing Kou Zhong spoke vulgar words, although on the surface Song Yuzhi was frowning deeply, a feeling of intimacy and hard to describe thrill welled up in her fragrant heart.
Song Zhi was silent for half a day. Suddenly he threw his head back and let out a long laughter. Looking out the window, he stared at the riverbank resplendent under the bright sunlight. He was quiet for quite a while with just a smile on his face. Finally his gaze returned to the two boys as he said with a hoarse laughter, "Am I right in saying that two Gongzi do not consider me as a friend?”
Song Yuzhi, who was standing behind Kou Zhong, said in disdain, "I already said that this man does not speak half a word of truth!”
Rather surprised, Song Zhi cast a glance toward his niece before turning to the two boys and spoke in earnestness, "If that is indeed the two Gongzi's only aspiration, you would not have killed Ren Shaoming, and would not have asked us to support Gui Xiliang to be the Bangzhu as the condition to our business deal. Is Laofu wrong?”
As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong calmly said, "How could Song Er Ye be wrong? But I was telling you the truth.”
Xu Ziling added, "This time we are transporting salt to Guanzhong is indeed our, two brothers' cherish desire to temper ourselves.”
A mysterious smile appeared on Song Zhi's face. "The ‘Duke Yang Treasure' is in Guanzhong, isn't it?” he said lightly.
The two boys' heart shivered even more. This Song Zhi's reputation as the Song Clan's ‘wisdom sack' was indeed well deserved; unexpectedly he managed to deduce the fact with seventy, eighty-percent accuracy. Kou Zhong sighed and said, "Song Er Ye is indeed formidable!”
Song Zhi said indifferently, "Why not do a bit bigger business? Might as well do it.”
Kou Zhong was puzzled, "How can we do a bit bigger business?”
Song Zhi smiled and said, "No matter how much salt the two Gongzi want, we can supply it.”
After exchanging glances with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, "One thing we, two brothers, are most afraid of is precisely falling into someone else's control.”
"It's not that two gentlemen are afraid to fall into someone else's control,” Song Zhi cut him off, "Rather, you are unwilling to bow down to anybody. If I, Song Zhi, cannot see this point, I would not have spoken these words today.”
Song Yuzhi joined in, "Er Shu [second uncle]! Yuzhi already said that they don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!”
Song Zhi laughed and said, "Yuzhi should not say anything emotional; anybody who could kill Ren Shaoming is qualified to speak like Kou Xiaoxiong and Xu Xiaoxiong.”
After fixing his eyes on Kou Zhong for quite some time, he stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Currently, with the death of Ren Shaoming, the situation in the south is reversed. Looking at all the warlords vying for supremacy, only Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian are more or less able to vie with our Song Family. If the two gentlemen have the aspiration to obtain the world, why not talk about the possibility of cooperation with each other?”
A fantastic feeling rose up in Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's heart, realizing that they were highly regarded after killing Ren Shaoming. Otherwise, how could they stand on equal footing with this second-in-command of the Song Clan? Let alone having high-level talk about cooperation with him.
After short contemplation, Kou Zhong nodded and said, "Only under one condition will we be able to really work together with a common purpose: your precious Clan's Clan Master must be willing to betroth Miss Yuzhi to me, Kou Zhong.”
All the martial art masters of the Song Clan, who all long stayed silent, were stunned. Song Yuzhi even exclaimed, "Ah!” with her tender voice. Red clouds appeared on her jade cheeks, whether from happiness or anger, it was hard to distinguish.
Only Song Zhi remained as calm and cool-headed as ever. After staring at Kou Zhong for quite a while, he laughed involuntarily and said, "Kou Xiaoxiong's ambition is indeed not low, but you are simply counting your chicken before they are hatched.”
Xu Ziling remained unruffled. Nobody was able to see his innermost thoughts.
Kou Zhong felt no qualms; maintaining a straight face he said craftily, "The dowry is the ‘Duke Yang Treasure'.”
Song Yuzhi almost wanted to pinch Kou Zhong dead on the spot. "No!” she screamed, "I am not going to marry him!”
Song Shuang, who doted on Song Yuzhi the most, could not refrain from saying, "Yuzhi is already engaged!”
Song Zhi raised his hand to stop the two from speaking further. He looked at Kou Zhong, and then he looked at the ever-enigmatic Xu Ziling. Finally he nodded and said, "Kou Xiaoxiong is definitely a worthy candidate to vie other the world. If our Song Clan missed this opportunity, my humble [elder] brother will definitely blame me.”
Severely shaken, Song Yuzhi exclaimed, "Er Shu!”
Song Zhi smiled at her and said, "The ‘Duke Yang Treasure' is still an exceedingly remote possibility. Besides, this matter will not happen unless we receive your father's nods. Yuzhi, why panic?”
Kou Zhong was delighted, "Miss Song, please set your mind at ease,” he said, "If when the day comes you say ‘No', how could I, Kou Zhong, shamelessly force you?”
Everybody nodded their heads in approval; they all admired Kou Zhong's broad-mindedness and elegance.
Only Song Yuzhi tightly pursed her lips, but she did not speak a single word of opposition either.
Song Zhi laughed and said, "This matter has thus been more or less decided. Would two Xiaoxiong require our assistance?”
Kou Zhong shook his head to decline. Lowering his voice, he said, "Er Ye ought to give forming an alliance with Xiao Xian a careful thought. That Lin Shihong is being pressed by the enemy front and back; it's hard for him to accomplish anything.”
None of the people from Song Clan's side was not emotionally moved.
[1] Zhuge Wuhou - Marquis of Wu, is the nobility title of Zhuge Liang, a famous character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.